No Elves in Sovngarde Book Two, NEIS continued Options

[jack cloudy]

Wouldn't Lydia be Peck? A girlman in ever town and all that.

And Uthgerd is totally the tough guy with lots of chains. Hmm, that doesn't leave a spot for Mjoll though.



Also, I wonder how Lydia will take Erik's slaying of Kayla. On the one hand, Kayla went off the deep end and became a vampire. On the other, Lydia did swear an oath and all that.

[Darkness Eternal]

I just had to ask. When are you getting back to this story, Liz?

[Elisabeth Hollow]

I'm writing it bit by bit. I know I'm always logged on on my phone, but I'm rarely around my computer and usually too burnt out to write. I'm about halfway done with the next chapter. It'll be a bit longer than usual.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Thanks for your patience, y'all. Real life has been kicking by butt :/

In case you don't feel like re-reading the last chapter, we were at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun. Mjoll has been filled in on the initiation process for the vampiric girls, Uthgerd has left the group and Erik and Mjoll are speaking to Lydia.

I know the chapter is a little long, but...well, it's been a while.

Enjoy!



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Lydia grinned at Erik as she stood up. She held out her arms and pulled the sitting Erik into a hug.

"How are you? Where have you been?! Where's Kayla? Who's this? Did you dump her for this gorgeous blonde?" Lydia looked over to Mjoll and gave her a friendly smile.

Oh no, Mjoll though. She must not know.

Erik stood up and gently laid his hand on Lydia's elbow. "I think you better sit down. I have some bad news." The look on Lydia's face told Mjoll that she had better go.

"I'm going to go get some fresh air," she said. Erik nodded and Mjoll shot Lydia a sad smile before going outside. Once outside, she took a deep breath of the cold air. She saw a flash of something by the house next to the blacksmith. She slowly walked towards the house, her hand on the hilt of her sword. Were she to pull it from behind her back, whatever was over there would not live long.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


Lydia stared at Erik in disbelief.

"She turned into a VAMPIRE?! How? When-"

"About a year ago. Asta had gotten ahold of her, attacked Rorikstead and nearly killed Ma'Dat."

Lydia shook her head. "No," she said." The man next to her held her hand. She gripped it tightly as the tears fell from her face. "She wouldn't have wanted that. Where is she now?"

"She..." Erik's icy blue eyes misted over. "I put her to rest."

"No..." Lydia put her head in her hands. The dark-haired Imperial man next to her pulled her right hand from her and held it with his own hands. Lydia grasped him, the tremor of her grief traveling between the two of them. Tears traveled from her eyes down the wrist of her hand.

Erik's eyes shone with tears. "I know, I-" his voice broke. "I've never had to do something so difficult. I can't..." He sighed. "I can't stop thinking about it. But she...she thanked me. At the end."

Lydia sniffed and wiped her face with her hands. She let out a weak laugh. "That sounds like Kayla. She would have hated being one of those things. It's for the best." She let out a shaky sigh and wiped more tears from her eyes.

"So, what have you been up to? Who's the gorgeous blonde you're with?"

"Mjoll." Erik sniffed and wiped away a few tears of his own. He nodded to the rugged Imperial man. "Who's this?"

Lydia's face was suddenly joyful. "Erik, I'd like you to meet Sorex. He's my husband."

Erik's eyes shot up in surprise. "Husband? I'd never thought I'd see YOU married, Lydia, since you're such...a free spirit." He changed his wording when Lydia shot him a dangerous look. He cleared his throat and shook the man's hand.

"Congratulations. Any chance we could borrow your wife? We just had an opening in our group."

"Nope." Lydia said. She stood up and rubbed her stomach. Erik noticed for the first time there was a slight bulge.

"Are you..."

"Four months along!" Lydia said with a smile on her face. She looked down at her stomach and sighed. "I've been excused from service from the jarl until I have the baby."

"Wow, well, congratulations!"

Lydia smiled even bigger. "Thank you! I'll tell you, i never imagined myself a mother, especially with the job I have. But now that i'm pregnant, I find myself looking forward to it."

Her smile turned into a playful grin and she punched him on the shoulder. "So, Mjoll is pretty. And strong. You two look like you could handle each other quite well." Her eyebrows waggled up and down devilishly.

Erik laughed and blushed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I don't think she thinks of me that way. She has a man back home, in Riften. She writes him very often." Erik busied his hands with a tankard of mead and his pocket. He jingled the septims as he gulped his mead. Lydia laughed.

"You like her, don't you?" She gave him a knowing grin.

"Uh, maybe a little bit. I mean, I still dream about Kayla. Going after Mjoll, knowing that in my dreams I'll see her seems kind of creepy to me."

Lydia shrugged. "I hate to say it, but Kayla is gone, Erik. She's not coming back." Her eyes darkened. "We have to move on. All of us."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


The wind blew forcibly against Mjoll's steel armor, whipping her hair around her face. She spat it out, tucking the strands behind her ears when they continued to blow into her face. She heard a voice, distorted by the wind in her ears. She peeked her head around the corner to the back of the house to see an ethereal form of a man in what looked to be his early twenty in mage's robes kneeling down.

Mjoll gripped the hilt of Grimsever tighter in case the ghost got violent. She looked around, and when she did, the ethereal form of the mage was gone. When she blinked in confusion, he was there again, kneeling. This time, she watched carefully from around the corner as the ghost spoke.

"Where did you come from, little girl?"

He seemed to wait for an answer before nodding. Suddenly, his face contorted with horror and he seemed to try to fend off an attack. He laid on the ground for a moment, twitching, then dissipated.

Mjoll let out a surprised gasp. She had seen some ghosts in her time, sure, but they were always actively trying to kill anything around them. She shook her head in confusion at the sight of the ghost repeating the actions over and over again, asking the same question. She cautiously stepped from around the corner, not wanting to alarm the flickering ghost.

This post has been edited by Elisabeth Hollow: Jun 6 2013, 03:46 PM

[King Of Beasts]

She peeked her head around the corner to the back of the house to see an ethereal form of a man in what looked to be his early twenty in mage's robes kneeling down.

Yay! New chapter!

It's gotta be hard for Erik to break the news to the group about Kayla. The thing is she's still alive I wonder how they'll react of they find out....

Onmund's ghost? Creepy, lol

[Grits]

Lydia's face was suddenly joyful. "Erik, I'd like you to meet Sorex. He's my husband."

Congrats to the couple! Funny to imagine Lydia happily pregnant.

It's great to have an update from you!

[Darkness Eternal]

Congrats to the couple! Funny to imagine Lydia happily pregnant.

"I'm sworn to carry your burdens."

[mALX]

GAAAAH! I'll bet the little girl is Asta killing that ghost! Urk, not good no matter what!

I loved what Erik started to say and then changed when Lydia gave him the evil glare, lol. We all know it started with a "B," ROFL !!!

Welcome back, sorry I missed this post yesterday (was working on that mod for Grits's RP). Awesome Write, and Welcome back !!!

[Acadian]

Thanks for your little ‘In our last episode. . . ‘ summary. Very helpful, and it’s wonderful to see you posting again.

A painful but welcome reunion with Lydia.

"Husband? I'd never thought I'd see YOU married, Lydia, since you're such...a free spirit." He changed his wording when Lydia shot him a dangerous look.’ - - Priceless!

I had to chuckle over DE’s comment about Lydia being 'sworn to carry your burdens'.

So I’m putting my money with KoB in thinking the ghost is Onmund. I wonder what Mjoll will do or if the ghost will talk to her.


Nit: ‘Oh no, Mjoll though{t}.’

[McBadgere]

*Taps foot*...Where've you been missy?...Hmmmm?... ...

Well worth the wait though...

Loved it...

Awwww...Lydia's pregnant, and she don't want her new man knowing of her...Free past... ...Sounds about right... ...

And then the bit with the ghost...I loved that it's more like the "Real" theory about ghosts, in that Onmund's trapped in the emotional scar of the event rather than the "Free roaming, self-aware fart" state ...Brilliantly done...

I know you'se busy so it'll likely be a wee while 'till the next bit...But definitely worth it...Glad you found some time to carry it on...

Love it!!!...

Nice one!!...

*Applauds heartily*...

[jack cloudy]

Lydia got married? But she was such a....charismatic woman who easily makes friends wherever she goes.

Huh, I'm kind of surprised the stayed out of touch this long. I guess she was really fed up with Kayla's behaviour so when she got abandoned she got drunk and stopped giving a damn about her oaths long enough to go monogamous and stay that way once sober again.

And Onmund's trapped in dying like a broken recording. I kinda feel bad about that. It can't be pleasant. Maybe it's just an echo. I hope so.


While it is kinda nice to see Erik crushing on his next strong woman, I'm not rooting for them yet. Mjoll's got her Riften guy and Erik needs to work out his issues first. (You just know he's the kind of guy to mutter Kayla over and over in his sleep. Sure, Mjoll knows the story but it's still another woman's name in his head all the time.)

[Elisabeth Hollow]

You know, that ending seems like I stopped abruptly... I think I was going to add another tidbit at the end and forgot about it. I dunno. I'l fix it later so it doesn't look like I just crapped a half-ending out.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Where we were before: Kayla and Emelia had picked up a couple of wolf pups the last time we checked on them.

------------


Sai and Miriam pawed at Emelia's head while she slept. Emelia blinked groggily, then a smile spread to her face. The sun was setting, and like clockwork for the last few weeks, the pups had woken both myself and Emelia up. They had grown larger and become more playful. Especially Miriam. She barked and yipped, which was not something I was used to hearing from wolves.

Watching Emelia with the wolves reminded me of something painful. Not all of Asta's army were as old as Asta. Not all of them knew better. Some of them were like Emelia, if not most of them. Emelia relished being a child, playing with the pups, her blue eyes alight. When she had to feed, something in her turned off. The bright look in her eyes was gone in a snap, and the look of a calculating predator took its place.

It saddened me.

It took a few moments for the look to fade, but eventually she was herself again. And like he knew, Sai would bound up to Emelia and plant his paws on her chest, and she would dissolve into a puddle of giggles.

We stayed in the cave for a few months, feeding on any unfortunate adventurer that stumbled in. The wolves watched curiously as we fed, cocking their reddish-brown heads to the side at the sound of the high-pitched screams of grown men. They sniffed the corpses and pawed at them, then wandered off. They watched stoically as we disposed of the bodies, and went off to hunt their own food.

One particular night, Emelia asked me an unexpected question.

"When are we going to kill Asta?"

I paused, startled at the question. Miriam cocked her head and whined when I stopped scratching her exposed belly.

"I don't know." I said truthfully. "I...really don't think I'm in any position to actually FIGHT her. I'm...no different than her anymore."

Emelia blinked, her brow furrowed in thought. "No, I guess not anymore. I think that's my fau-"

"No, it's mine. I'm the one who can't help but tear at everything with a beating heart."

I sat on my makeshift bed, made from leaves, grass, and shed wolf fur. The cold, stony cave floor was made slightly softer by the padding, but the chill still seeped through. I sorely missed my bed at my house in Whiterun, the roaring fire downstairs, the warmth of the animal skins against my own bare skin, Onmund's hands snaking around my bare waist...

"You're getting that look again."

I turned to Emelia. "What look?" The wind blew harder, making the mouth of the cave howl loudly. The wind whipped her golden blonde hair around her slender, petite face. Her eyes were a little sunken in, the last time of her feeding edging on a week. Her lips were turning ashen, and she was looking more like a corpse than a healthy little girl. Her fangs poked over her bottom lip, and she wore a look of slight irritation.

'She's really hungry. I have to feed her soon or she'll start snapping at me.'

"That dreamy look you get when you stare off into nothing sometimes. What are you thinking about?"

In spite of the cold, a semblance of heat rushed into my cheeks. Emelia kept her curious look on my face as Sai begged for her attention by nuzzling her hands. She petted his head absently as she watched my face. I shook my head slightly to signal I didn't want to talk about it.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"I want to know what it is you're thinking about."

"Just thinking about a warm bed. And a bath."

"Oh. That's it?"

No. "Yeah, that's it."

"Oh. I'm getting really hungry."

"I know, me too."

"If we go into the city, we can feed freely."

"If we go into the city, I'll probably eat everyone in sight."

Emelia shook her head. "No, you won't."

"Why not?"

"Because surviving long enough to kill Asta is more important than a few drops of blood." She rubbed Sai's belly.

"Emelia, I can't control myself."

"You're not trying." She looked up at me. "I know you can. If I can, then you can. We're the same."

"The same?"

"Asta made us both. Asta was made by Movarth, who could control himself. The vampires you've been fighting aren't like us." She flicked a strand of hair threatening to go into her eye. "They can't control themselves. Kayla, I hate to tell you this, but there's a complex system for vampires." She furrowed her brow. "Asta called it a food chain. The smart ones get to be nobles, the less-smart ones make little clans, and the dumb ones get killed by people like you."

"Nobles?!" I felt sick. I've never been one to hang around nobles, as I was often viewed as "common rabble," but the few that allowed me into their presences had earned my respect. Jarl Balgruuf, for example. It sickened me to think of him sipping blood with his evening meal while his children sat at the same table.

I shook the disturbing image from my head and looked at Emelia. "So, what are we? Hunter fodder?"

"I guess so."

"I don't like the idea of that."

"Me neither. You stink."

I frowned. "Well, so do you!"

"I know." Her pale lips curled upwards in a small smile when the wolf pup's legs twitched in satisfaction at her belly rubs.

"If we were to go into town, we couldn't go like this." I said. "People would take notice. We're covered in blood, our hair is a mess, and we look like we're dead."

"We ARE dead."

"That's beside the point. How have the vampire nobles stayed undetected all of these years?"

"They probably feed on a regular basis and know how to control themselves."

"Exactly."

"I can control myself." Emelia said with pointed look at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, I'll try, okay?"

"Yeah, I know. But we gotta do it fast. Hey, I'll even teach you how to only take a little."

Take a little? The idea sounded absurd to my ears, but deep inside it's how I wanted to live. Was it? The constant conflicting emotions wore down on me. Was I a killer for purpose, or a killer for my own satisfaction?

I had long ago, mulling over the thoughts that I couldn't escape on the frozen nights in the icy cave, came to the conclusion that I was a killer. Always had been. I'd killed bandits, vampires, draugr, and even the Dark Brotherhood on accident. Not all had been in self-defense. Most vampires had been shut away in caves, forts, old ruins, perhaps to hibernate away the years until the war subsided. Yet I sought them out and ended their unlives, simply because Meridia...no, compulsion. Compulsion drove me.

After a year and a half of feeding off of hapless adventurers, and after spending half my life killing those who did what I now do, I had to wonder if there wasn't some sort of sadistic lunacy in my former life. I wanted to survive, and the only way to do that was to take from another. The question rose in my mind, and my breath caught in my throat with a hitch.

Was there a chance that I was the bad guy?

[King Of Beasts]

I can't help but feel bad or Kayla. She doesn't even know whether she's good or bad anymore. She needs to step up and go after Asta though. It doesn't matter what side she's on as long as it isn't Asta's. if only she'd realize that...

This post has been edited by King Of Beasts: Jun 7 2013, 04:03 AM

[Grits]

Kayla asks herself an excellent question. She’s certainly one of the bad guys now, at least in her old context. Perhaps it’s her new context that makes her think she was bad to start with. That’s the kind of thinking that could lead to a long walk in the sun, but I’m sure Emelia will help her get herself together.

It was great to get an update on your story!

[McBadgere]

Ooooh, fair dues...Nicely done that...

While I got that she was a child-vampire, somehow I thought of her more as a grown-up in a child body...But yeah, she's very childlike...Nice one...*Applauds*...

Loved the way the wolves kept weaving in and out of the episode...Loved that...

Was there a chance that I was the bad guy?

Well, even now she doesn't feel like one...Even with the admission of feeding on the unwary traveller...

Brilliant writing, as ever...

Loved it...

Nice one!!...

*Applauds heartily*...

[Acadian]

Emelia is an adorable little predator who can be dissolved into a puddle of giggles by a puppy. I really like how you portray her.

The wolf youngsters were nicely incorporated as a bit of action in what was a wonderfully quiet scene of discussion, thought and self-doubts.

Vera Kayla is wrestling with being a predator with a conscience. It feels as if she is approaching another fork in her path. One trail is very dark indeed; the other. . . less so perhaps.

EDIT: Oops. Thanks, Liz! Musta got distracted while typing.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Jun 7 2013, 04:58 PM

[Elisabeth Hollow]

You mean Kayla, Acadian? XD

[Darkness Eternal]

You mean Kayla, Acadian? XD

Oh and my review will come shortly!

[Elisabeth Hollow]

I don't remember posting this yesterday...OR replying. It looks like I did both, though, lol